Osasuna vs Espanyol prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2022-10-19 18:00.
Osasuna’s fine start to the La Liga (LL) season is in danger of being squandered now they’re on a four-match winless run (D1, L3) following Monday night’s 2-0 defeat to Villarreal. Averaging one red card per game across those fixtures, discipline has been a problem although on this occasion they were simply outclassed despite keeping all eleven men on the pitch.
They’ve often produced a late show at home this term, with 57% of their LL goals here coming after the 70th minute, including winners against Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano. However, two straight home defeats is a worrying trend for the mid-table side as they haven’t lost three consecutive LL home games since December 2016.
Now three fixtures unbeaten (W1, D2) following their 1-0 win over Real Valladolid, Espanyol are moving towards the top half having scored in each of their last seven LL games (W2, D2, L3). Coach Diego MartĂnez claimed after the Valladolid win that they’ve hit the woodwork more often than any other side too, meaning their first home LL win of the campaign “gave a great feeling” to the club.
He also spoke about needing to keep improving, likely with a nod to winning just one of their away league games this calendar year (D5, L7) and needing to convert goals into results on the road. They’ll want some luck if they do strike the woodwork again and hope the ball slips into the net this time, and they may need it, as seven of their last nine visits here actually saw them fail to score (W2, D1, L6).
Players to watch: Kike GarcĂa, who scored for Osasuna against Real Madrid (D 1-1), netted his last four goals after the break while Sergi Darder on the scoresheet should be good news for Espanyol, who haven’t lost any of his last 11 goalscoring outings (W6, D5).
Hot stat: Each of Osasuna’s last five LL games produced exactly one first-half goal, as did four of the last six league H2Hs.